Tracy C. Gold

I have a love/hate relationship with Amazon but they DO give me a cut of things ordered via my affiliate links, so here we go with some random links of things that might be useful to folks who share my interests (kids, books, horses, outdoor life).

I always try to stock up on any basics I might need moving forward while they’re on sale, so I looked through my recent Amazon orders, and here we go.

All affiliate links!

Kid stuff

Kid velvet hangers–I had a lot of baby/toddler hangers but now Ava’s clothes are falling off so I upgraded to these. And they’re on sale! I’m going to order more!

“Call Your Mother”: My book! Not technically on Prime sale but so freaking cheap. Less than $3 as I write this.

Adorable butterfly hair clips: These are beyond cute! I discovered these for flower crowns/the Ren Fest but they’re great any time.

Amazing flag pants: Ava’s top pick for July 4th or whenever.

Miscellaneous

Untested change plates–we have a home gym and my weight needs are um much lighter than my husband’s. The trainer we zoom with recommended getting some change plates on sale!

Air tags–not technically on Prime sale but so cheap which makes me mad because I just bought new ones NOT on sale!

Air tag holders: I use these on Royal’s hoof boots and they mostly stay on…and keep her air tags dry when we cross streams.

Spray bottles: For horse stuff and life, I am often needing spray bottles. These have a good continuous spray and work well when I am waterproofing horse laundry.

Laundry tub cleaner: With all my horse stuff, my machine gets gross. I use this every now and then on a tub clean cycle.

Hair drying towels: if you have long hair, wrap it up in one of these when it’s wet and it will come out nicely wavy (if it’s like mine). Plus you won’t get everything all wet. Lifesavers!

Aquaphor healing ointment: This stuff saves my lips. I take it with me everywhere. Amazon tells me I’ve purchased this 27 times lol. And it’s on sale!

Cheap ear phones: I am always losing these so I go cheap. These work and they’re cute!

Scout bags: I bought a bunch of these on last Prime Day and they are GREAT. Bags and coolers with zippers that hold up and are worth the money…if you get them on sale. Get an extra large one and thank me later. These midsize coolers are great too–I keep water bottles in them. I like how the long strap makes them easier to carry.

Phone screen protectors: I go through these. This brand is cheap and easy to put on. Make sure you get the right size.

Horse stuff

Untested hoof polish–I haven’t tried this yet but it has rave reviews and it’s on sale!

Perfect prep gold–this is show legal calming paste aka what I like to call chamomile tea for horses. (Except I think actual chamomile might not be legal? Make it make sense.) Anecdotally, I do think this helps Royal relax at shows, as she was a bit more excitable the one show this year where I forgot it. But it was also a busier environment so who knows. It is long lasting so you can give it the night before instead of waking up even earlier. It’s not technically on Prime Day sale but it does have the lowest price in 30 days.

Magic shine sponge: for your boots before you go into the show ring!

I had so much fun chatting with Maria Frazer on her “What’s for Launch” podcast all about what it was like to publish “Everyone’s Sleepy but the Baby.” Take a listen if you’re curious about what it takes to publish a board book, the poetry inside picture books, and what it was like to launch a book in the middle of a pandemic.

Also, I’m super excited for Maria’s forthcoming middle grade book, “Margarita in the Spotlight,” which is an Audible Original coming out this Fall! I love audiobooks, and this one is about a family of musicians, so it sounds perfect for the format!

I am so excited that the cover for my book, “Trick or Treat, Bugs to Eat” is finally live! Illustrator Nancy Leschnikoff and the team at Sourcebooks Kids did such beautiful work on this book!

Here is a little video with the cover at the end that my agent, Carrie Pestritto, helped me put together!

To read about how I got the idea for this book, and enter to win a virtual call from amazing author Tara Lazar, head over to her blog, where the cover for this Halloween book was first revealed on April 8!

I am doing a preorder campaign for this book–if you preorder it, I will send you free stickers! I have details about that here. It comes out from Sourcebooks on August 1, 2021, with plenty of time before Halloween.

Hi, Pitch Wars mentee hopefuls! You are probably reading this after you have submitted your Pitch Wars applications, while you’re waiting to hear from potential mentors. Or perhaps you’re spotting this before the official blog hop, or this post has come up a year or two down the road at another stage of the process. Either way, I’m here to share my advice as a two-time Pitch Wars mentee. I also applied a third time because I loved it so much and didn’t get in that third time (okay, alright, it was greedy to apply again!).  

Here are a few thoughts that should be helpful for you at this stage of the game. 

Querying is unlike anything I’ve experienced in any other industry: it’s guided by unspoken rules. Everyone has slightly different ideas of what those rules are, and newbies can be left completely oblivious.

I’ll cover some basic guidelines for tricky situations that come up when you’re querying. These guidelines come from my own querying journey, mentoring querying writers, and working with agent Carrie Pestritto (though these are my views, not hers!).

Thanks to some recent pitch contests, I’ve been talking to a lot of new writers who are thinking about approaching literary agents. Below, I’ll break down the basic process of seeking literary agents and explain some of the common vocabulary that trips newcomers up. Note that this post is primarily geared towards writers of fiction and memoir, with a few notes for non-fiction writers to keep in mind.

Update: this webinar, and a transcript, for those who prefer reading, is posted here.

If Game of Thrones inspired you to write your own epic fantasy, join me for a free webinar about how to manage multiple points of view. I’m recording live and doing an exclusive Q & A next Wednesday at 3 pm New York time. The main webinar & transcript will be posted afterward.

I’m a huge fan of the show, but for this webinar, I’ll mainly be talking about the first book. Read, or reread at your own risk (I’m now halfway through the audiobook of A Clash of Kings, 40-some hours later). You don’t have to read the book to understand the webinar, but the webinar will certainly spoil the first book, and potentially the whole series. Spoiler alert! You’ve been warned.

I’ll cover the following concepts:

1. How to choose which character narrates a scene

2. How to decide whether a character deserves to have a POV section at all

3. How to avoid confusing your readers 

4. How to choose between first person and third person

5. How to make each voice distinct

Thanks to Reedsy for hosting me!

Register for free here.